Home Office

Independent verification of the MI5 Compliance Improvement Review

baroness williams of trafford: My rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department (Priti Patel) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:On 15 July 2019, my predecessor made a Written Ministerial Statement regarding the MI5 Compliance Improvement Review conducted by Sir Martin Donnelly. Sir Martin made 14 recommendations focused on achieving lasting improvements in the areas of compliance, openness and legal assurance. The Director General of MI5 and I remain fully committed to the implementation of the recommendations. As Sir Martin recommended, it is my intention to independently verify the implementation of his recommendations. However, it has become apparent that, due to the impacts of Covid-19, the start of this verification, which was originally due to be completed by the end of June 2020, will have to be postponed. MI5 expect to complete implementation of Sir Martin’s recommendations by the end of 2020. The independent verification will therefore commence at the beginning of 2021. I have full confidence in the integrity of MI5 officers and their commitment to complying with legal obligations. They do a vital job in keeping our country safe, a task that, at this time of uncertainty, is more important than ever.


This statement has also been made in the House of Commons: 
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Department for Education

Higher Education Student Finance

lord parkinson of whitley bay: My honourable friend the Minister of State for Universities (Michelle Donelan) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.I am announcing details of student finance arrangements for higher education students undertaking a course of study in the 2021/22 academic year starting on 1 August 2021.Maximum tuition fees for the 2021/22 academic year in England will be maintained at the levels that apply in the 2020/21 academic year, the fourth year in succession that fees have been frozen. This means that the maximum level of tuition fees for a standard full-time undergraduate course will remain at £9,250 for the 2021/22 academic year.Maximum undergraduate loans for living costs will be increased by forecast inflation (3.1%) in 2021/22. And the same increase will apply to maximum grants for students with child or adult dependants who are attending full-time undergraduate courses in 2021/22.We are also increasing support for students undertaking postgraduate courses in 2021/22. Maximum loans for students starting master’s degree and doctoral degree courses from 1 August 2021 onwards will be increased by forecast inflation (3.1%) in 2021/22.I am also announcing today changes to Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) that will increase flexibility for students to access the support that they need. The undergraduate DSA, which is currently structured as four separate sub-allowances, will be simplified into one allowance in line with the postgraduate DSA.The same maximum allowance (£25,000) will apply to both full-time and part-time undergraduate and postgraduate DSA recipients in 2021/22. This will apply for both new and continuing students. An exception for travel costs will be made to this maximum cap, which means that travel costs will in effect continue to be uncapped.I am announcing today that individuals who have been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain as a bereaved partner, and resident in the United Kingdom and Islands since the grant of such leave, will not be required to demonstrate three years’ ordinary residence in the United Kingdom and Islands before the start of a course to qualify for student support and home fee status in relation to new higher education courses from 1 August 2021 onwards.I am also announcing today that individuals in protection based categories (those with Humanitarian Protection Leave, Calais Leave, Section 67 Leave and Stateless Leave) starting or continuing higher education courses in 2021/22 will no longer be required to demonstrate three years’ ordinary residence in the United Kingdom and Islands before the start of a course to qualify for student support and home fee status.Further details of the student support package for 2021/22 are set out in the attached document.I expect to lay regulations implementing changes to student finance for undergraduates and postgraduates for 2021/22 later in 2020. These regulations will be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny.



Details of Higher Education Student Finance 2021
(Word Document, 29.48 KB)





This statement has also been made in the House of Commons: 
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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Human Rights Update

lord ahmad of wimbledon: My Right Honourable Friend, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Dominic Raab), has made the following written Ministerial statement:I have today laid before Parliament, under the powers of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020.These Regulations enable sanctions to be imposed on those who are involved in serious violations or abuses of human rights. This sanctions regime is not about punishing countries or peoples. It is a smart tool allowing the Government to impose both asset freezes and travel bans on specific individuals or entities in order to provide accountability for and deter serious violations of human rights around the world and prevent those responsible from coming to the UK or laundering their assets here. These sanctions will help to ensure that the UK is not a safe haven for those involved in serious human rights violations, including those who profit from such activities.The Regulations allow for Ministers to impose sanctions on persons who are involved in activities that would amount to a serious violation of the right to life; the right not to be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; and the right to be free from slavery, not to be held in servitude or required to perform forced or compulsory labour. The Global Human Rights sanctions regime can be used to target different forms of involvement in such violations of human rights, including those who profit from them. The Regulations allow for non-State actors as well as State actors to be designated.The introduction of this autonomous human rights sanctions regime will give the UK an additional, powerful tool to support human rights across the world, and underpin Global Britain’s role as a force for good in the world.Today, I will also publish the first persons to be designated under this new sanctions regime.


This statement has also been made in the House of Commons: 
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Cabinet Office

Transfer of Cabinet Office Historic Records

lord true: My Rt Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Rt Hon Michael Gove MP) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 amended the Public Records Act and introduced a 20-year rule for the transfer of historic government records to The National Archives. This replaced the 30-year rule in force since 1967. The Act made provision to phase in this change over 10 years, beginning in 2013. The transitional arrangements require the Cabinet Office to transfer records of 1997 and 1998 by the end of this year. The Cabinet Office’s historic records include those of the Prime Minister’s Office. This statement provides an update on the impact of COVID-19 on our work in this area.Since 2015, the Cabinet Office has made two transfers a year, in July and December. The July opening is discretionary and reflects the Cabinet Office’s commitment to opening as much as possible as early as possible.Measures to contain COVID-19 have inevitably had an impact on work in this area. It will not, therefore, be possible to transfer records in July this year. Whilst work has continued as normal in many areas across the Department, archival work requires physical access to hard copy files to complete the review and preparation of documents for transfer.In addition, The National Archives building in Kew closed to the public and staff on 17 March 2020 and at present is unable to facilitate the transfer of new records.I remain fully committed to meeting our obligations under public records legislation. The Department is undertaking an assessment of the wider impact of the COVID-19 restrictions on work in this area. We will work with the National Archives and the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives and will provide a further update to the House in due course. 


This statement has also been made in the House of Commons: 
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